The Texas Tech Red Raiders will be playing from behind once again. The Red Raiders fell to the Texas Longhorns, 7-3, in Game 1 of the best-of-three championship series at the Women’s College World Series on Wednesday.
Texas Tech had to win three elimination games just to get back in the championship series for the second straight year. Now, the Red Raiders will have to win two more elimination games to win their first national championship in softball. Here are three thoughts on the game.
That Fateful First Inning
This game was decided in the first inning and Texas Tech thought it had the upper hand after Mihyia Davis’ home run in the top half of the frame. But things got away from the Red Raiders fast.
With Kaitlyn Terry in the circle the Longhorns pounced. Katie Stewart hit a two-run home run. Kaiah Altmeyer singled home a run and then Ashton Maloney tripled home two more runs. It was enough to chase Terry out of the circle and get the Red Raiders to bring in Nijaree Canady.
Terry recorded two outs and allowed four hits and four runs. Canady went 1.1 innings and allowed two hits and a run. By the third inning, coach Gerry Glasco went to Samantha Lincoln in the circle until Lincoln loaded the bases in the sixth inning of a 6-3 game and went back to Terry. She gave up a sacrifice fly RBI and a lineout to limit the damage to one run.
The only good thing that came out of it was that both Terry and Canady didn’t face many hitters and could be a little fresher for Game 2.
Live and Die by the Home Run
One thing Texas Tech is much better at this year than it was last year is hitting home runs. In 2025 the Red Raiders hit 60 home runs. This season they hit 143 going into the championship series.
The Red Raiders hit two on Wednesday. Along with Davis, Mia Williams slammed a two-run home run to cut the Texas lead to 5-3. But it wasn’t enough. In fact, Texas Tech got a dose of just how tough it is to hit Texas starter Teagan Kavan. She held on of the most potent lineups in softball to three hits. She limited the damage of the home runs by making sure there wasn’t much traffic on the bases. She struck out five and walked two.
Texas Tech will see her again. The Red Raiders have a day to adjust to one of the best pitchers in the game.
What Must Change in Game 2?
Quite simply, the Red Raiders must hit. Getting just three hits off Kavan isn’t going to cut it. That’s easier said than done, of course. To do that, the focus must be less on home runs and more on stringing hits together and creating more traffic on the bases. Texas Tech essentially had three baserunners — one reached by a hit and two by walk.
In the circle, the Red Raiders must avoid giving up the big inning early. Fighting back from four runs down after one inning against the Longhorns is too much to ask. Yes, Texas Tech has excelled at comebacks of late. But the Red Raiders don’t want to risk being out of magic with the season on the line.
